read Archives

Second Life of Mirielle West, The

Leprosy and Second Chances Author: Amanda Skenandore Mirielle leads a dissipated life, despite the luxury of being married to a Hollywood star and living in extravagance. She drinks to forget, to forget the toddler she recently lost, to cloud the memories and silence the nagging blame. Life, as bad as it is for her, is about to get a lot worse. A routine doctor’s visit for a small, white spot on her hand changes everything. Overnight, Mirielle is locked in a Spartan hospital room, then ferried on a dirty train car to a remote part of Louisiana where Carville, America’s only [...]

Frances Carden2023-03-11T12:35:36-07:00March 11th, 2023|Tags: book review, fiction, historical fiction, leprosy, read, reading|

Runaway Jury, The

Big Tobacco Vs. the Everyman Author: John Grisham In the case of Big Tobacco vs. the everyman (set in the 90s), it’s a given that the cigarette companies, with unlimited money and loose ethics, are going to win. But this landmark trial, set in a sleepy Mississippi town, just might challenge that assumption. Despite the tobacco companies’ careful research on all prospective jurors, one unknown has made it onto the case: Nicholas Easter. He’s a young man, and it’s hard to tell if he leans toward either side. There isn’t much on Easter, so it’s a surprise when he moves up [...]

Frances Carden2023-03-06T18:02:52-07:00March 6th, 2023|Tags: book review, court room, john grisham, legal thriller, read, reading, thriller|

From Below

Ghost Ship Blues Author: Darcy Coates Darcy Coates is best known for her haunted house stories . . . but when she steps outside of the ghostly confines of vine choked houses into her more creative works, she truly shines. I discovered Coates through Parasite, a sci-fi horror compilation of interrelated short stories that captured the nature of isolation and the slow dread of a villain that can literally wear your face, as in John Carpenter’s The Thing. In From Below, that otherworldly aura of isolation and abonnement truly shines. A team of five divers, each in desperate situations, have accepted [...]

Frances Carden2023-03-05T12:00:28-07:00March 5th, 2023|Tags: book review, ghost ship, horror, read, reading|